Kawhi Leonard is now officially a Toronto Raptors player, but closing the trade that had been agreed upon two months ago hasn’t been as simple as simply confirming that everyone remains satisfied with those negotiations. According to Bobby Marks, ESPN reporter, the forward had to forgo a significant sum of money in order to bring the deal to a close, a move that could have become more tangled if he had clung to a contractual amount that belonged to him.
Specifically, Kawhi waived the 7.45 million dollars from his trade bonus, an amount that would have pushed Toronto over the first apron threshold and that, as Blake Murphy of Sportsnet explains, would have forced an expanded trade. Thus, the forward’s decision prevents this soap opera from dragging on by necessitating additional players and teams, ensuring he can wear the Raptors’ colors from the start of the training camp.
Kawhi Leonard is waiving his entire trade kicker, per a source.
Was a near-necessity, cap-math wise, unless Raptors expanded the deal.
Most of the details within here still hold. Raptors hard-capped, likely to carry just 13 to start the season (or 14 with Bradley converted). https://t.co/cX35RGxFw7— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) September 14, 2026
Beyond that, if anyone can afford to overlook money after everything that has happened, it is Leonard. According to the information currently available, those 7.45 million represent less than one-sixth of what he earned under illicit contracts.
The move, however, leaves the Raptors fairly thin on personnel. Only 2.3 million below the first apron, Murphy notes that the Canadians are expected to start the season without adding new pieces, that is, with only 13 players on the roster. There is a possibility that the total could rise to 14 if they decide to convert one of the two-way contracts (presumably Jaden Bradley’s), but barring a surprise that will be about it. Even so, having already closed the Kawhi saga, that is no small feat.
